Apparatus for freeing and removing hollow castings from flasks



May 29, 1934. c. D. BARR ET AL APPARATUS FOR FREEING AND REMOVING HOLLOWCASTING$ FROM FLASKS Filed Jan. 5. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TORS.Lnmr/rcs .0. 5mm STA-fills 0. Maxzzy BY J 60.6 L 600 x;

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corporation of Delaware Application January 5, 1932, Serial No. 584,872

4 e 8' Claims. x (or. 22-94) Our present invention,relates to mechanismFig. 2 is an enlarged detail pf the grapple for for removing hollowcastings from. sand-lined grasping and pulling the pipe from its flask.flasks in which they have been cast centrifugally. Fig. 3 is atransverse view of the flask sup- In casting hollow metal bodiescentrifugally, port taken on the line 3-3, of Fig. 1.

, such-for instance as cast iron pipes formed in Fig. 4 is a similarview taken on the line 4-4 60 sand-lined molds or flasks, the castingsare often of Fig. 1. very diificult to remove because the sand liningFig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the is usually denselyc'ompacted'in the flask and p shing pl ng r nd h fl k Support w t he thecasting, when formed centrifugally, becomes grapple in open positionready to grasp an end rather firmly bound therein, making it exof thecasting, and 65 tremely difficult to remove endwise, and this is Fig. 6is a top plan view of the apparatus especially true with cast iron pipeshaving a shown in Fig. 5. protuberance, such as a bead, at the spigotThe apparatus includes a support for the end and 9, bell at the otherend, flasks which 'in the instance shown, comprises It has been proposedto free the castings from a pair of cradles 10, spaced apart asuflicient 70 the flask by disintegrating the sand lining distance toconstitute rests for the flasks 12, around the casting by means of ahollow auger, to support them horizontally, said cradles beand also byremoving the sand lining by means ing shown as supported upon andsecured to of a jet or jets of fluid under pressure, and while I-beams13, and each having a curved upper face these methods have provensatisfactory, when 14, to conform to the radius of the flask or sub- 75employed in connection with pipes up to 12" stantially so. 'Each'cradlemay also include op- -in diameter, some difflculties are presented whenpositely arranged vertical uprights 15, bolted to an attempt is made toemploy them in connecthe I-beams 13, and also to I-beams 16, extendingtion with pipes of larger dimensions, as for at right angles to theI-beams 13. The distance instance 14" and over, and of lengths 1'6 andbetween the uprights of each pair is just suf- 80 ver, ficient to permita flask 12, to be supported The objects of the present invention are totherebetween. The upp ends of e up s r provide a novel 'method of anapparatus for are beveled outwardly as at 17, to guide the removinghollow metal castings from the: sand flasks toward the cradle seats asthey are lowlined flasks in whicl they have been castand ered by theoverhead crane (not shown).

' wherein large and heavy flasks and -their con- An abutment is arrangedin line with the said taineci castings may be easily handled with asupports and in the instance shown, consists minimum of labor, exertionand time, of a base 18', carrying an annular member 19,

Briefly and'generally stated our improved apof suflicient size to form astop to prevent endparatus comprises a support for a flask, which Wisemovement of the flasks 12, when force is 90 support includes an abutmentto prevent endexerted longitudinally thereof, as when a castwisemovement of the flask in one direction during i being pushe d and pulledtherefrom The ing the extracting operation, a plunger movable a n member15 preffimbly Provided h a within and lengthwise of the flask to pushthe removable wear'plate 19 g bolted Phereto, which 40 casting eridwisethereof so as to break the may f g fromf tune tune which 95 bond betweenthe sand lining and theflask $2 e are anged a .1 ate 0f differenta'ndcause an end of the casting to be projected Fig we a Shown the flask12 in through an P flasliiand longltudmauy sition upon its supports withone end thereof, mova l p e q q havmg a grapplc edapted namely the bellend 12', abutting the abutment grasp the Prolectmg 9 of the castmg andmember 19(. In said figure the reference char- P bodily from theflaskacter 20 indicates the hollow casting which is- The inventioncomprises other features of shown as :M0911 and spigot pipe and 21 indi,novelty whi h w be hereinafter pointed out cates the sand lining betweenthe flask and the in detail in the following specification and casting.In this figure the casting is shown 105 claims. as partly pushed fromits flask, and through In the accompanying drawings wherein we theannular abutment to expose the bell end so i have illustrated oneembodiment of our inthat itmay be grasped by a grapple and then v ntion,I completely withdrawn from the flask by mean- Fig. 1 is a sideelevation. anism to be presently described. 1

The means for breaking the bond between the sand lining and the flaskand for pushing the casting and the lining endwise of the flask,consists of a plunger 22, having a head 23, of approximately thediameter of the bore of the flask, said plunger being removably mountedupon the extension 22* of head 22', supported from a carriage 24, havingwheels 25, traveling upon trackways 26, as more clearly shown in Figs. 4and 6. The plunger may be withdrawn from the flask by any suitablemeans. In the present instance 'I have shown this means as consisting ofa weight 27, connected to the carriage 25, by means of cables 28,trained over idlers 29, as more clearly shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6.

The means for advancing the plunger 22, consists in the instance shown,of a hydraulic or pneumatic power cylinder 36, having one end of itspiston 31, directly abutting the outer end of the plunger 22, through aconcave convex connection 32, which serves to take care of anydifliculties that might arise through misalignment between the pistons31 and plunger 22. The fluid power medium for the cylinder is controlledby a 3-way valve 33, shown conventionally in Fig. 5. Obviously, thisvalve may be of any improved construction. It will be clear that thereturn movement of the pistons 31, is accomplished by the weight 27, andcables 28, when the valve is positioned to permit escape of theactuating fluid from the power cylinder.

From the foregoing it will be seen that with the mechanism thus fardescribed a hollow casting may be pushed lengthwise of a flask restinghorizontally upon its supports with one end engaging the annularabutment member 19, as more clearly shown in Fig. 5. Thus the bondbetween the sand lining and the flask is broken by a pushing forcedirected against one end of the casting to be removed and exertedlengthwise thereof.

In order to completely remove the casting from its flask, we provide apulling means which is brought into operation immediately an end of thecasting has been projected through an end of the flask.

Since the art of pulling the casting from its' flask also serves tocause the clinging sand to become detached from the casting, some dustis created, and in order to take care of this and to provide means forcollecting and for transferring the detached sand to a point where itmay be reconditioned for further use, we prefer to pull the castingdirectly into an enclosure 34, as shown in Fig. 1, with which dustexhaust pipes 35 communicate, said pipes being connected to any suitableexhaust apparatus of the cyclone or other type.

The castings are pulled lengthwise onto transversely arranged rails 36,supported upon the floor of the enclosure and upon which they may berolled from the enclosure to the cleaning station (not shown). A portionor portions of the floor of the enclosure above a pit or well is coveredby a grating 37, beneath which are supported hoppers 38, which lead thedetached sand to the sand reconditioning apparatus. A stop 39, may belocated adjacent one of the rails 36, to properly position the castingsupon the rails.

The pulling device for withdrawing the castings comprises, in theinstance shown,.a grapple as more clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and5,

The grapple includes, a fixed jaw 40, and a movable jaw 41, both jawsbeing mounted upon a wheeled carriage 42, which may be caused to travelback andforth upon an I-beam or other trackway 43, extendinglongitudinally through the enclosure 34. The-forward end of the fixedjaw 40, is beveled as at 44, to facilitate its guidance into the end ofthe hollow casting, and the movable jaw 41, which is pivoted at 45, hasa nose 46, adapted to grip the bell end of the casting. The movable jawalso has a shoulder 47, adjacent, but in rear of the nose and sopositioned that it will contact with the bell end of the hollow castingwhen the grapple is brought into grasping relation with the casting andthus automatically bring the two jaws into gripping contact with thesaid bell end as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. The movable jaw 41, isalso provided with a seat 48, in rear of the shoulder 47, with which thefree end 49, of a pivoted latch 50, may engage in order to retain themovable jaw into gripping relation with the casting until it is to bereleased. The latch 50, which is pivoted at 51, is normally urged bygravity into seating relationship with the movable jaw, and isautomatically shifted to unlatching position by a stop 52, fixed to thetrackway 43, and with which the upper end 53, of the latch engages, allas more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it being understood that thestop is so positioned that it will actuate the latch to release themovable gripping jaw when the pulling device has withdrawn the castingfrom its flask and positioned it properly upon the rails 36.

The grapple is actuated by means of a system of cables as more clearlyshown in Fig. 1. One cable indicated by the numeral 54, is connected atone end to the fixed jaw 40, of the grapple,

and from thence extends through the enclosure 34, and is looped aroundfixed sheaves 55, located adjacent the lower end of a hydraulic cylinder56, and around movable sheaves 57, mounted at the upper end of a plunger58, a portion of which plunger is movable in the cylinder as a piston.The other end of the cable is attached to one of said sheaves. Obviouslyif fluid is caused to enter the lower end of the cylinder 56, theplunger 58, with its sheaves 57, will be elevated thus causing a directoutward pull upon the cable 54, and if the grapple jaws are attached tothe casting the latter will be pulled from its flask and deposited uponthe rails 36, and the grapple then released by reason of its latch 50,coming into contact with the fixed stop 52.

A second cable 59, is attached at one end to the grapple carriage 42,and then passes over a pulley 60, mounted at one end of the trackway 43,as shown in Fig. 1. From thence the cable .59, extends over a series ofidlers 61, and then over a sheave 62, mounted upon an overhead beam 63,with portions of the cable looped about sheaves 64, carried by the upperend of the plunger 58, this arrangement being such that the loopedportions of the cable will 'be shortened and lengthened by the upwardand downward movementsof the plunger 58, as will be obvious. The slackin the cable 59, is taken up by the idler pulley 65, and its associatedweight 66, said pulley and weight being suspended in a, loop or slackportion 6'7, of the cable at the point where it is trained over andunder the series of idlers 61, as more clearly shown in l.

From the arrangement of cables shown and described it will be seen thatthe grapple and its carriage may be caused to move back and forth uponits trackway 43, by raising and lowering movements of the double actingplunger 58.

Obviously as the plunger moves upward it imparts a pulling force uponthecable 54,, and at the same time the cable 59.;is let out or slackenedbecause of the shortening of the cable loops between the, fixed andmovable sheaves 62 and 64. When the plunger is lowered just the reversetakes place; the loops in the cable 59 are gradually lengthened, and thegrapple carriage with its grapple is then moved into position to gripthe casting. The actuating fluid for the cylinder 56, is admitted'anddischarged at opposite ends thereof, by means of a suitable 3-wayvalve of any preferred construction.

The operation of the apparatus will be clear from the foregoing detaileddescription and without further explanation, it being apparent thatthrough said operation a novel method is employed for freeing andextracting hollow castings from sand-lined flasks, which consists infirst exerting endwise pressure against one end of the casting and thesand lining to break the bond between the lining and the inner wall ofthe flask and to project one end of the casting through one end of theflask, and thereafter force exerted longitudinally of the casting whilemaintaining the flask against endwise movement.

By the arrangement shown wherein the head 23, is removably mounted uponthe extension 22 of the head 22*, and wherein the abutment ring 19', isalso removable, these parts are interchangeable for corresponding partsof a different size, and the apparatus may thus be readily adapted foruse in connection with flasks of different diameters.

While we have shown an apparatus for supporting a single flask only, itis to be understood that in actual operation we prefer to employ .two,three or more units of the same construction, said units to be locatedside by side as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, in order to takecare of flasks and castings of different diameters.

What we claim is:

1. An apparatus for extracting hollow cast ings from sand-lined flaskswherein the sand lining is tightly compacted between the outer surfaceof the casting and the inner wall of the flask, comprising an opensupport into which a.flask may be lowered from above and supported in asubstantially horizontal position, an abutment at one end of the supportfor engagement by an end of the flask to prevent endwise movementthereof in one direction, said abutment having an opening at least aslarge as the diameter of the casting and thru which the latter may beprojected, a plunger located at one end of the support .in alinementtherewith,

means for imparting a short movement to the plunger lengthwise of theflask and operable to engage and project an end only of the casting thruan end of the flask, and a longitudinally movable pulling device havinga grapple adapted 79 to engage the projected end of the casting andcompletely removing the casting by a pulling of the casting and theinner wall of the flask, comprising an open support includingoppositely-disposed spaced-apart uprights between which a flask maybelowered and supported in a horizontal position, an abutment at one endof the support for engagement by an end of the flask to prevent endwisemovement thereof inone direction, said abutment having an opening largerthan the diameter of the casting and thru which the latter may beprojected, a fiuidactuated plunger located at one end of the support inalinement therewith, said plunger having a relatively short movementlengthwise of the flask and operable to engage and project an end onlyof the casting thru an end of the flask, and a longitudinally movablepulling device having a grapple adapted to engage the projected end ofthe casting and pull it bodily from the flask.

3. An apparatus for extracting hollow castings from sand-lined flasks asdefined in claim 1 and including a trackway extending forward from theabutment, a carriage movable upon the trackway and upon which thegrapple is mounted, separate cables connected to the grapple andcarriage, respectively, and power means for operating the cables for thepurpose specified.

4. An apparatus for extracting hollow castings from sand-lined flasks asdefined in claim 1, and including a trackway extending forward from theabutment, a carriage movable back and forth upon the trackway and uponwhich the grapple is mounted, separate cables connected to the carriageand grapple, respectively, and a power plunger common to both cables foroperating the latter to pull the grapple and carriage back and forthalternately.

5. An apparatus for extracting hollow castings from sand-lined flasks asdefined in claim 1,115 and including a trackway extending forward fromthe abutment, a carriage movable back and forth upon the trackway andupon which the grapple is mounted, said grapple having a fixed and amovable jaw to embrace the inner and 120 outer walls of the casting andwherein the movable jaw has a nose adapted to engage the outer wall of acasting and a shoulder positioned to engage an end of the casting tomove the nose into gripping position with the outer wall of 125 thecasting when the fixed jaw is moved into the open end thereof.

6. An apparatus for extracting hollow castings from sand-lined flasks,comprising an open cradle into which the flask may be lowered and 1330supported in a horizontal position, opposed spaced-apart uprights forholding the flask against lateral movement, an abutment at one end ofthe support for preventing endwise movement of the flask, said abutmenthaving an 135 opening larger than the diameter of the casting and thruwhich the latter may be projected, a power plunger at one end of thesupport having a head mounted for universal movement and adapted toenter the supported flask and push 340 a casting lengthwise thereof, anda carriage upon which the head is mounted.

7. An apparatus for extracting hollow castings from sand-lined flaskswherein the sand lining 1 is tightly compacted between the outer surface145 of the casting and the inner wall of the flask, comprising a fixedsupport for holding a flask in a substantially horizontal. position andsaid support including cradles having spaced-apart q upstanding arms, anabutment at one end of .the support, said abutment having an openinglarger than the diameter of the casting and thru which the latter maybeprojected, a power plunger at one end of the support, said plungerhaving an interchangeable head mounted for lateral movement and adaptedto enter the flask and engage and push a casting longitudinally thereof,a wheeled carriage upon which the head is mounted, a grapple movabletoward and from the other end of the flask and adapted to grasp acasting and pull it bodily therefrom, and a trackway for supporting andguiding the movements of the grapple.

8. In apparatus of the character described for extracting hollowcastings from sand-lined flasks, including an open support for holding aflask in a substantially horizontal position during the extractingoperation and into which a flask may be lowered from above, said supportcomprising spaced-apart cradles each having a curved seat andoppositely-disposed spaced-apart uprights tor preventing lateralmovement of a supported flask, a vertically-extending abutment at oneend 01' the support for preventing endwise movement of the flask, saidabutment having an opening therein larger than the diameter of thecasting to be projected from the flask,

and a short-stroke power plunger located atthat end of the supportopposite the abutment, said plunger adapted to enter a supported flaskto engage an end of a castingtherein to project the opposite end of thecasting through the opening inthe abutment. V

, CLARENCE D. BARR.

STEPHEN D. MOXLEY. JACOB L. COOPER.

